


Drive Me Crazy

by ShukiAi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, College, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Past Jean Kirstein/Eren Yeager, Road Trip, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-19
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 04:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3195329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShukiAi/pseuds/ShukiAi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A road trip home for the holidays turns into more than Jean Kirschtein and Marco Bodt bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Plot bunnies for this fic came about after a small road trip of my own last fall while listening to Magic Man's CD on repeat. They just wouldn't leave me alone so I am now going to attempt to write this sucker. 
> 
> A HUGE thank you to my beta readers: [somnolentcypress](http://somnolentcypress.tumblr.com/), [nalony](http://nalony.tumblr.com/), and [cocktailpolitics](http://cocktailpolitics.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Oh, and I have a tumblr as well: [shukiai](http://shukiai.tumblr.com/)

The car jolted slightly as the wheels went over the rumble strip on the side of the highway. The sudden change in terrain woke Marco from his sleep in the back seat. Jean, however, was still softly snoring in the front passenger seat. Marco figured he would have been more concerned if he hadn't felt Eren slowly braking the car to a stop, gravel crackling underneath the tires. _Maybe he needs to take a leak_ , Marco thought and shut his eyes again. He shifted a bit to get more comfortable, nuzzling his face into his make-shift pillow.

The sound of the front passenger window rolling down made Marco frown, yet he still just tried to go back to sleep. That was until he heard footsteps crunching on the gravel outside the car.

“Hey, need a ride?” Eren asked smoothly.

Now Marco was awake. His eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright.

_What the hell!?_

\---------------

Fall had slowly made its way into winter, the days turning shorter and the nights longer. The city of Stohess was getting ready for the winter months with extravagant Christmas displays and lighting. For the students of Stohess State University, the holidays were the last thing on their minds. Finals were right around the corner and now was the point where most students started panicking.

The on campus coffee shop was packed full of students trying to find a place to both study and stay caffeinated. The smell of seasonal peppermint and gingerbread filled the air; pumpkin spice already long forgotten. Marco Bodt stood in line for coffee, looking over the menu for something new to try. He liked to change it up a bit.

“Hey, Marco!” Sasha greeted from behind the counter. “What can I get for you today?”

Marco smiled at his friend. Even the week before finals she was still energetic as ever. It probably had something to do with working in a coffee shop; free coffee and all. “Hey, Sasha. Get me one of those chestnut praline lattes and a large coffee, black,” he answered.

“May I suggest a gingerbread latte for Jean instead?” Sasha grinned, punching the order into the register. 

Marco snorted. “You know Jean would kill me.”

“It would make for an exciting shift,” Sasha said, a wicked look in her bright brown eyes. Marco just shook his head. “Aw, you're no fun. $4.57 then.”

Marco handed over his card and glanced around the room, looking for Jean. He wasn't too hard to spot with his two-toned hair and permanent scowl.

“So, you mind if Connie and I join you two after my shift?” Sasha asked, handing Marco his card back.

“Yeah, no problem. See you in a bit then.” Marco moved down the counter and waited for his and Jean's drinks to finish being made.

Jean Kirschtein sat at a table towards the back of the cafe, frowning down at his text book as he tried to concentrate on the sample problems at the end of the chapter. He looked up and glared at a student trying to take the unoccupied chair from his table. He moved his leg and dropped it down onto the chair. “I'm saving this seat,” he said gruffly. The other guy held up his hands in surrender and moved on to try and find another unoccupied chair to take. Jean resumed staring at his text book and sighed. He looked up again when a large coffee was set in front of him. 

“Sorry I'm late,” Marco said with a bright smile.

“What's this?” Jean nodded to the coffee Marco had set down. “I told you it was my turn to pay today.” He moved his leg off the chair that he was saving for Marco. 

Marco shrugged and dropped down onto the seat. “Figured I owed you for saving me this spot. How many times did you have to fend people off from taking the chair?” he asked with a chuckle and began taking some of his books out of his bag. 

“Too many,” Jean mumbled and took a sip from the coffee cup. It was still beyond scalding and Jean winced a bit, setting the cup back down. “I see Sasha is working today.”

Marco grinned, looking at Jean. “Yeah, she and Connie are going to join us after her shift. Pretty sure we won't be getting much work done once they join us.”

Jean snorted. “Probably not. Better use our time now wisely.”

Marco gave a nod, put on his reading glasses, and opened his notebook to start taking notes from his psychology text book. The two worked in companionable silence for about five minutes before Marco put his pen down. “Hey, Jean... are you still driving home for winter break?”

Jean looked up from his own notebook and nodded. “Yeah. There's no way I'm going back home for two months without my car. I need to escape somehow.”

Marco smiled and gave a knowing nod. Jean constantly complained about his family when it came time for him to return home for breaks. “Would you, uh, like company?” he asked a bit shyly, fiddling with his pen. 

Jean raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Marco let out a little laugh and rolled his eyes. “Me, Jean. I'm asking if I can catch a ride with you most of the way.”

“Really?” Jean asked, perking up a bit. “Shit, that would be awesome!”

Marco smiled wide, relieved Jean liked the idea. He hadn't wanted to impose. “Right now I'm a bit strapped for cash and since I waited until the last minute, plane tickets are pretty expensive. I thought if we split the gas money and stay at cheap motels it would be a bit cheaper than a plane ticket.”

“No, this is so great,” Jean replied, smiling back. “We can kind of make a trip out of it. Find fun stuff to stop and do. I hate driving across the damn country on my own.”

“Great!” Marco said with a nod. “I figure I can go as far as Quinta with you and then I can catch the two hour train ride home. I don't want to take you way off of your route home.”

“Nah, that's cool. We can figure it out and plan what we both want to do. Are your parents expecting you home for Thanksgiving? I'm usually still driving then. But I kind of tend to take my time.”

Marco shook his head. “No. That shouldn't be a big deal. Plus with the way my mom cooks, I'm sure there will be plenty of leftovers when I do get home.”

“Lucky. My family's Thanksgiving consists of food from whatever restaurant my mom can find that's open.”

Marco gave Jean a sad smile. “Well, we could try to make it to my house for Thanksgiving. If you wanted. I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind. The more the merrier in my house. But no pressure.”

Jean thought about it a moment. “Yeah, maybe. Let's plan what we all want to do and where we want to stop first.”

“And get through finals,” Marco said with a sigh.

“That too,” Jean groaned and took another sip of his coffee. He smiled. It was now the perfect temperature.

\---------------

After their study session, and an hour of antics with Connie and Sasha, Marco headed back to his dorm room. He kicked off his shoes and set his book bag down before moving over to his bed. Grinning wide, Marco flopped down and stared up at the ceiling. It seemed like Jean had been just as excited as he was about the mention of him coming along for the ride back home. He had been a bit nervous to ask, just because he knew that Jean liked his space. But this past year the two of them had become pretty close.

The two had met through mutual friends freshman year and found that they both seemed drawn to the other. Often times when Eren, Connie, and Sasha were being quite boisterous and a bit too much to handle, Marco and Jean liked to stand back and enjoy the craziness from the sidelines. They also found that they liked to just talk about anything and everything. Nights on Skype would last until sunrise and then they would complain the next day to each other of the little sleep they got. After only a few short months, they had both made the leap to acknowledging each other as best friends. Two halves of a whole. Usually one couldn't be found without the other.

Somewhere along the line, however, their friendship had turned into something more for Marco. He would notice all the little things and couldn't ignore how happy he felt just by having Jean by his side. He would go out of his way to make Jean happy and would remember things about Jean he probably shouldn't even pick up on. Like the fact that Jean preferred shaped Reese's to the plain Reese's cups. The look on Jean's face when Marco had once bought him a large bag of Reese's pumpkins still made Marco laugh. Marco also made it a habit to text Jean 'good night' and 'good morning' every day.

A week alone with Jean. He couldn't wait. Spending time on the road, sight seeing, and staying in motels... Marco sighed happily. He was going to make the most of this time together.

Eren Jaeger came into their shared room and glanced over at Marco. “That's a big smile you've got there,” he said with a grin, kicking his shoes off. 

Marco let out a laugh. “Yeah... Jean and I are planning a road trip.”

Eren moved over to his desk and put his book bag down. “Oh yeah? For break?”

“Yeah,” Marco said and sat up. He faced Eren, an uncertain look on his face. 

Eren glanced over his shoulder at Marco. “Don't give me that look,” he said. “Jean and I had a falling out. I don't care that you're going with him.”

“I know, but you two used to make the trip together,” Marco argued, rubbing his finger under his nose in a nervous gesture. 

“Yeah, well, it's in the past. Besides, we used to fight over music and shit anyway,” Eren said and shrugged his shoulders. “I hope you're ready for a car ride of classic rock.” Eren made a gagging noise and sat down on his desk chair backwards, facing Marco. 

“Classic rock's not so bad.”

“Says the pop princess!” Eren teased with a laugh. He dodged the pillow Marco threw at him and it crashed onto his desk.

“Hey, watch the merchandise! No, but seriously, does Jean know your deep dark secret? I think you might give him a coronary if Ke$ha comes on your playlist.”

“I'll just let him pick the music. It's his car,” Marco said, giving Eren a little pout.

“You're too damn nice sometimes. Let him suffer a little.”

“I want to still be friends with him by the end of the trip.” Marco rolled his eyes and flopped back on his bed. “What even happened between you guys? You were pretty good friends up until last year.”

“Not important,” Eren said, waving his hand dismissively. 

Marco decided not to push it. Jean never wanted to answer him about it either. That was the one thing Jean didn't trust him with. He sighed. 

Eren cleared the tension by changing the subject. “So, you planning on making any fun stops?”

“We're planning on it, but I have to check what route we're taking. Figured I'd Google some stuff tonight.”

“There's a pretty cool amusement park on the way if you're taking the same route we used,” Eren suggested.

“That could be fun.” Marco reached over and grabbed his laptop off his desk. He opened Google and pulled up a map. “So what route did you guys take?”

Eren got up from his desk chair and moved over to Marco's bed, sitting down next to him. “Here, along route 40, mostly.” He pointed along the stretch of highway. “Runs through a lot of major cities too, so there are places to stop and stuff.”

Marco listened as Eren talked about the things he and Jean did on past trips. He would have to take some of Eren's suggestions into consideration, but he also wanted to do some new things with Jean as well. He couldn't help it when his mind wandered to thinking about Eren and Jean's falling out. It had happened after break last winter and they both refused to talk to each other or about the other to anyone else. When they had arrived back at school it was like war had been declared between the two. Marco assumed it was some stupid fight they both were too stubborn to get over and neither wanted to admit to. Probably over Mikasa. It was no secret Jean had a crush on Eren's sister. Or at least he _had_. Jean never mentioned her anymore. Whatever it was, Marco wanted to avoid the same scenario. There was no way he could lose Jean as a friend. The thought alone made Marco feel physically ill. 

_Damn, when had I become so dependent on Jean?_ Marco thought. 

“So, when you guys taking off?” Eren asked.

“The day after finals. We're going to see if we make good timing and possibly go to my house for Thanksgiving.”

“That's cool. Going to introduce your boyfriend to the family?” Eren teased with a smirk.

Marco frowned at his roommate. “Not funny.”

“Kidding, kidding!” Eren laughed and got up from Marco's bed.

“So, when are you heading home? Are you and Mikasa flying back together?” Marco asked, continuing to research stops along the way.

Eren sighed. “No. She only gets a week and a half off from work so she's flying out later than I am. I wanted to leave earlier to spend time with Armin. He'll be back for break too.”

Marco nodded. He knew how much Eren hated flying. But he also knew the lengths Eren would go to in order to see his friend. Armin was practically a brother to him. “Have you considered taking a bus or train?”

Eren shrugged. “I've looked into it... flying's just easier and quicker.”

“Well, if I can help in any way...” Marco offered feebly and gave Eren a small smile.

“Thanks, man. But I'll be okay,” Eren said and put on a fake smile. He moved back over to his desk chair and sat down. “I'm going to try and study a bit.”

“Wow. You? Study?” Marco teased.

“Shut up,” Eren laughed and opened his text book. Marco smiled at Eren and then looked back down at his laptop. He bookmarked a few things and then went back to studying himself.

\---------------

When Jean and Connie had parted ways with Marco and Sasha, they headed to The Pit, the campus junk food spot, for some late night grub. After getting their order of burgers, fries, milkshakes, and “oh - a grilled cheese, too!”, they headed back to their dorm room.

“Alright,” said Connie, shoving a fry into his mouth. “How'd you manage to get Marco to agree to come with you?”

“I didn't. He asked me,” Jean said with a shit-eating grin. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door to their room, stepping inside. 

“Bullshit!”

“It's true!” Jean laughed. “We were studying at the cafe and he asked me out of the blue.”

Connie whistled and dropped his backpack down on the floor by the end of his bed. “Lucky you. So, you gonna plan some romantic dates along the way?” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Jean.

“Shut up, dickweed,” Jean grumbled, his face flushing a bit. “We're just friends and I'm happy to keep it that way.”

“Aw man, you can't let what happened with Eren destroy your love life forever,” Connie said.

Jean frowned and sat down on his bed. “Don't want to talk about it. And don't you dare say a word to Sasha or anyone about it.”

“Dude, I've kept your secret for a year now,” Connie said. “But you totally need to get over it.” He got up and moved over to their large flat screen TV and turned it on. “You want to play?” he asked, holding up a game controller. Jean gave a nod and caught the controller when Connie tossed it to him. After turning on the Playstation, Connie moved back over to his bed and sat down.

Jean kicked off his shoes and got comfortable on his own bed before starting up the game. He looked over at Connie and smirked. “Try not to fuck up our mission this time.”

“Hey! That was one time! Besides, you should be worrying about not fucking up your road trip this time,” Connie shot back.

“Touché, asshole,” Jean said between clenched teeth. All thoughts and apprehension about the upcoming road trip disappeared as the night wore on. Jean and Connie ended up staying awake until 3:00am playing video games.

Jean slowly blinked awake when he heard the ring tone of his phone going off from somewhere near him. After blindly patting around for his phone for a few seconds he found it under his pillow. Sliding his finger across the screen, Jean answered the call. “...'ello?”

“Jean? Are you still sleeping?” Marco's voice said from the other end of the line.

Jean cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes. “Yeah... What time is it?”

Marco couldn't help his laugh. “It's almost two o'clock in the afternoon.”

“Ah, fuck.” Jean sat up and looked across the room. Connie was still sound asleep in his own bed. “Con and I were up late playing games.”

“I figured as much when you didn't answer my texts earlier,” Marco said. “I was wondering if you still planned on coming over to discuss things for the trip and study.”

Jean pulled his phone away from his ear. Sure enough, he spotted three missed text messages. “Sorry,” he said, putting the phone back to his ear. “Yeah, that sounds good. Give me a bit to wake up and I'll be over.”

“Run through the coffee shop and get me a peppermint mocha. Thank you!” Marco said before hanging up. 

Jean wrinkled his nose. “You and your nasty drinks,” he mumbled to himself but grinned. He got out of bed and grabbed a pillow, whipping it at Connie's head. “Con-man! Rise and shine!”

“What the fuck, man,” Connie groaned and pulled his comforter over his head.

“It's almost two in the afternoon and I'm leaving shortly,” Jean said, pulling yesterday's shirt off. He gave it a sniff and then tossed it into his growing pile of dirty clothes. He'd have to do laundry before break. “Weren't you meeting Sasha this afternoon?”

“Oh shit! Oh shit!” Connie cried and scrambled out of bed. “She's going to kill me!” He grabbed his cellphone off his desk and let out a shriek. “Thirteen missed text messages!” He quickly dialed Sasha's number, waiting for her to answer.

Jean laughed and listened to Connie plead for forgiveness as he gathered his things together. After brushing his teeth and trying to tame his hair, Jean grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “I'm heading out. Good luck, man,” he told Connie on his way out the door.

\---------------

Finals week arrived sooner than anyone wanted but at the same time it went by in a flash. For almost every night that week, Jean and Marco had gotten together to go over the road trip details and then study for whatever exam they had the next day. Friday rolled around and Jean found himself, Connie, Sasha and Marco celebrating with pizza in Marco's larger dorm room.

“We're freeeeee!” Sasha cried happily before shoving a slice of pizza into her mouth.

“I can't wait to get out of here,” Jean said as he reached for another slice. 

“When are you guys taking off again?” Connie asked around a mouthful of food. A small piece flew out and landed on Jean's leg. 

“You're fucking disgusting!” Jean grabbed a napkin and wiped at his pants. “And we're leaving tomorrow morning at nine. Glad to get away from you.”

“You wound me!” Connie cried dramatically and flopped over to cling to Jean. 

“Augh! Get off!” Jean protested and shoved at Connie's head.

Sasha giggled and grinned at Marco. “You have to get me a souvenir from one of your stops.”

“What would you like?” Marco replied. 

“She can't pick out her own gift,” Jean scoffed, finally freeing himself from Connie's grasp.

Connie had sat back up and chuckled. “Just bring her food from somewhere.”

Sasha pouted but then laughed. “That would actually be wonderful!”

Jean rolled his eyes as Marco and Connie laughed.

Marco looked over as the door opened and Eren stepped inside. “Oh, hey guys.”

Jean went quiet and his whole posture stiffened.

“Hey,” Marco greeted with a smile. “I didn't think you'd be back so early. Sorry we kind of crashed the place.”

Connie held up a box of pizza. “We ordered a ton, want some?”

Eren grinned and nodded. “Hell yeah! Thanks!” He moved over by Connie and grabbed a slice of pepperoni pizza. He couldn't help glancing down at Jean but Jean refused to meet his eye.

“We were going to put in a movie,” Marco told Eren. 

“That's cool. What are we going to watch?” Eren asked.

Jean fidgeted a bit while Connie and Sasha jumped at the chance to tell Eren all about the “fucking mind-blowing” movie they had rented from Redbox. He glanced at Marco and gave him a small smile. “I think I'm actually going to take off. I'm kinda tired and want to get some sleep before the drive tomorrow.”

Marco frowned. He knew Jean was leaving just to avoid Eren. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet. Jean's normal bedtime was closer to one in the morning. “Are you sure? Just stay for the movie. You don't even have to interact together,” he murmured softly. 

“It's not that,” Jean lied and he knew Marco could tell. “I've got a few more things to do before leaving anyway. Packing and...stuff.”

Marco sighed softly. “Alright. Well, I'll see you in the morning.” He got up with Jean to show him out.

“Aw, what the hell man, you're leaving?” Connie asked when he saw Jean slipping his shoes and jacket on. 

“Party pooper!” Sasha called.

“I've got a few more things to pack and I want to get to bed early. I'll see you back at the room.” Jean told Connie and gave a wave as he headed out. 

Eren frowned and looked over at Marco. “Didn't mean to crash your party.”

Marco shook his head. “Don't worry about it. Let's watch the movie and enjoy the last night before we go on break.” Connie and Sasha cheered and started the movie. Marco could talk to Jean tomorrow, so he decided to focus on his other friends for the night. However, that was easier said than done. Marco pulled out his cellphone half way through the movie and sent his nightly text to Jean.

To: Jean 7:41pm  
>>> Looking forward to tomorrow! Sleep well :)

He received a text back less than a minute later.

From: Jean 7:41pm  
>>> Shouldnt u be watching a movie? Dont stay up 2 late. I need my co pilot focused

Marco grinned and typed back a reply. The messages went back and forth throughout the length of the movie. If asked, Marco wouldn't have been able to tell anyone what the movie was even about. He was too involved in his texts with Jean.

\---------------

The morning air was a bit cooler than usual. Stohess usually only got down to around fifty degrees in the winter but last night the temperature had dropped into the thirties. Jean had pulled his car up to one of the two parking spaces right outside his dorm building. He got out and worked on packing up the car with his stuff while waiting for Marco. 

After saying goodbye to Eren, Marco headed over to Jean's dorm. His arms were full with his large duffel bag, book bag, pillow, and a bag of snacks for the road.

“Hey,” Jean greeted. “Let me help you.” He reached out and took the large duffel from Marco and put it in the trunk. 

“That everything or do you need to get more stuff?”

“Nah, this is it,” Marco said. “So I'm all set.” He pulled his jacket a bit closer around him. “It got pretty cold. I'm glad we're getting out of here. Much warmer down south.”

Jean nodded and rubbed his hands together for warmth. “Couldn't agree more. I've got a few more things to gra-” He cut off mid-sentence as Eren quickly came over and put his own small suitcase in the trunk. “What the hell do you think you're doing?” Jean spat at Eren.

“What's it look like?” Eren asked as a sly grin crossed his face. “I'm coming with.”

“Like hell you are!”

“You know I hate flying and you're going to be driving right through Shiganshina.”

“I don't give a fuck, you're not coming!”

“Guys...” Marco was a bit in shock that Eren was actually pulling a stunt like this. What on earth was Eren even thinking? Marco had mixed emotions. On one hand, it was logical that Eren come along. He knew how much his friend hated flying and they were headed right for Eren's hometown. On the other hand, Marco had wanted this time alone with Jean. Way for Eren to just spring this on them now. This wasn't going to end well. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and walked over to Jean and Eren, who were about to start throwing punches. “You guys, stop. Let's talk about this.”

“There's nothing to talk about,” Jean growled through gritted teeth. “He's not coming with us!”

“Stop being such a stubborn ass!” Eren frowned. “Just let me come.”

“Why? Why all of a sudden? I haven't fucking talked to you since last winter,” Jean argued. “And now you're acting like nothing happened and we can go on a two thousand mile road trip together and everything will be all fine and dandy? Fuck that.”

Eren sighed. “Look... It's a bit much to go over right now standing here, but can't we put the past behind us? I just want to get home.”

“Yeah? Well find another ride,” Jean growled and turned to walk away. There were still a few more things he had to grab from his dorm room anyway.

Eren stood there, biting his lip. He glanced at Marco, not sure what to say to plead his case. Marco watched Jean disappear into the dorm and then let out a heavy sigh. “Really, Eren? This is how you decided to approach coming along?”

“I figured if I had asked beforehand, Jean would have had time to find an excuse not to let me come,” Eren admitted. He reached up and ran his fingers through his brown hair. “You know I have a phobia of flying, Marco... please, let me come? It could be a lot of fun.” He chanced a hopeful grin. 

Marco made a small whining nose. “Don't give me those damn puppy-dog eyes.”

“Marcoooo,” Eren whined and moved closer to his roommate, tugging on Marco's shirt. “Pwease~?” He blinked his large cerulean eyes for effect.

Marco debated smacking Eren and telling him that he couldn't come, but he didn't think he could live through the guilty conscious all of winter break. “Let me talk to Jean,” Marco conceded with another sigh. 

“Yes!” Eren pumped his fist in the air and quickly moved to get in the back seat of the car. There was no way Jean could leave without him now.

Marco headed for the dorm entrance, trying to find a way to convince Jean that Eren should come. He stopped short when Jean came back out, his arms full with a box of snacks and a bag slung over his shoulder. He looked over to his car and spotted Eren already in the back seat. “What the hell is he doing in the car?”

“Jean, I know you don't want him to come...” Marco started.

“No shit. And he's not.”

Marco stayed silent and followed Jean back to the car, helping him put the rest of the stuff in the trunk. Jean opened the back door and put the box of snacks on the seat. “Get out of the fucking car, Jaeger,” he said, glaring hard at Eren. 

“Marco said I could come.”

“I don't give a shit! Get out of the car!”

“Jean. Just stop for a minute,” Marco said exasperatedly, stepping up beside his friend. “Eren has a phobia of flying and you know we're heading towards his house. Would it really be so bad if he came along? Maybe this will be good for the both of you. We can still have fun and do our planned stops. And it will save more money splitting things three ways.” 

Jean frowned and the hurt look he gave Marco was worse than any puppy-dog eyes Eren threw his way. Marco hated seeing it. “Fine. Whatever. I don't give a shit anymore,” Jean said, giving up. He didn't want to argue with Marco and ruin the whole trip. However, it was pretty much already ruined with Jaeger in the back seat. Jean did a double check to make sure everything was packed and then got in the driver's seat, starting the car. 

Taking a deep breath, Marco let it out before moving over to the passenger side and getting into the front seat. He hoped he had made the right decision and prayed Eren would be on his best behavior.

“You won't even know I'm here,” Eren promised from the back seat. 

Marco truly doubted that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Craziness ensues as the road trip begins!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I hope you enjoy it too. 
> 
> Again, a huge thank you to my beta readers: [zombiezebradonkey](http://zombiezebradonkey.tumblr.com/), [nalony](http://nalony.tumblr.com/), [cocktailpolitics](http://cocktailpolitics.tumblr.com/), and [somnolentcypress](http://somnolentcypress.tumblr.com/) You guys are invaluable! <3
> 
> My tumblr: [shukiai](http://shukiai.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Oh, and I apologize in advance to anyone who has a Kia. X3;;

Jean was pissed. He was pissed at Eren for pulling such a shitty move. He was pissed at Marco for going along with Eren. And he was pissed at himself for giving in and letting Eren win. He had a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel and refused to look over at Marco, focusing only on the road ahead. It had taken about ten minutes to get to the express way and he headed down the on ramp, merging with the other cars. Even late in the morning, the traffic heading out of the city was fairly heavy. Jean grumbled under his breath when he came up on the person ahead of him and quickly moved into the fast lane, passing them.

“So,” Eren said and sat forward, leaning his arms on the front seats ahead of him. “What happened to your Toyota?”

Jean frowned and glanced over at Marco. “You hear something?”

Marco looked back at Jean and gave him a little grin. Eren rolled his eyes, making eye contact with Jean through the rear view mirror. “Quit being such a child.”

Marco turned his head and glanced at Eren, a frown forming. Why couldn't he just let Jean settle down a bit? Considering the already rocky start, he really didn't want another fight starting up.

Jean let out a slow breath. “The Toyota's lease was up. Got a new car.”

Eren laughed and shook his head. 

“What!?” Jean snapped.

“Daddy is willing to pay for a new car and you pick a fucking Kia?” Eren said with a snort.

“It’s got good gas mileage!” Jean screeched.

“' _It's got good gas mileage_ ,'” Eren said in a mock voice of Jean. “You sound like you're sixty. Probably why you drive like a damn grandpa.”

“That's it, I'm kicking you out of this fucking car! Tuck and roll!” Jean yelled and turned around in his seat, punching at Eren. Laughing more, Eren quickly moved out of Jean's reach.

The car drifted to the right and Marco yelped. “Jean! Watch the road!” He quickly grabbed the steering wheel to avoid side swiping the car next to them.

Jean huffed and turned back around, looking out the windshield again. “Sorry...” he mumbled abashedly to Marco.

Marco sighed and slouched back against his seat, turning his head to stare out the passenger side window. After a third car passed Jean in the slow lane, Marco shifted a bit to get a look at the speedometer. He then moved back to look in the passenger side mirror; there was a long line of about eight cars behind Jean.

Jean glanced over at Marco and frowned. “What?” he questioned. 

“Um... you might want to go a bit faster,” Marco suggested.

“I'm going the speed limit!” Jean argued defensively.

“And that's the problem,” Eren scoffed from the back seat. He turned around to look at the car that was riding Jean's back bumper. Grinning wide, he waved at the driver, earning a short blast of their horn and brights being flashed in return.

“God dammit!” Jean growled and eased the car into the slow lane. The line of cars quickly started to pass them and Eren continued to wave cheerily as they went by. Marco bit his lip to keep from laughing as Jean grumbled under his breath.

As they made their way further out of the city, the traffic reduced and Jean relaxed a bit. His iron grip on the steering wheel lessened and he could feel his tension ease. It helped that Eren had actually stayed quiet for more than fifteen minutes, reading a comic Marco had offered him. In the front seat next to him, Marco had his glasses on and was reading what looked like some sort of fantasy novel.

“I can't believe you can actually read in the car,” Jean said, glancing over at Marco.

Marco looked up from his book and over at Jean. “You get car sick?” he asked, using his finger as a bookmark and closed his book. 

Jean nodded. “Yeah. It's not pretty.”

“Weak, Kirschtein,” Eren commented from the back seat as he turned a page of the comic he was reading.

“No one asked for your opinion, Jaeger,” Jean shot back.

“The next one to make a nasty comment about the other pays me a dollar,” Marco cut in, glancing back pointedly at Eren.

Jean frowned. “He starts it.”

“Whatever, you just take things too personally,” Eren retorted. “Such a delicate flower.”

“Do you see!?” Jean squawked, giving Marco a look. 

Marco couldn't help his laugh. “Eren, pay up.”

“Put it on my tab,” Eren said and went back to reading.

Marco turned in his seat and looked back at Eren. “Don't think you're off the hook. I'm going to collect.”

“You'll be rich by the end of the trip,” Jean snorted.

Eren raised his hand and flipped Jean off without taking his eyes off his book.

“That’s two dollars now,” Marco told Eren and turned back around with a smile on his face. He opened his book and resumed reading.

Jean reached over and turned the radio on. He scrolled through a few stations until it landed on one playing a classic rock song. He waited for Eren to make a comment, but when nothing was said from the back seat, he grinned. He would have to remind himself to thank Marco later when they were alone. Shifting lower in his seat, Jean got comfortable and tapped his thumb against the steering wheel with the beat of the music.

\---------------

After another three hours on the road, Jean pulled off the freeway and into a fairly populated area. There were a handful of fast-food restaurants, hotels, and gas stations. “Alright, it looks like our choices are McDonald's, Hardee's, Burger King, Taco Bell-“

“Taco Bell!” Eren said quickly, casting his vote. 

Jean wrinkled his nose and looked over at Marco, raising his eyebrow in question.

“I'm honestly fine with whatever,” Marco said. 

Jean smirked. “Alright, McDonald's it is.”

“What the fuck? Marco said he doesn't care, so that's two votes for Taco Bell,” Eren reasoned.

“How in the hell is that two votes for _you_?” Jean asked, glaring at Eren in the rear view mirror.

“How is it two for you?” Eren countered. 

“Children. We can go to _both_ places,” Marco interjected. He was seriously going to commit homicide by the end of the trip. And it had barely even begun.

“I want to get out and stretch my legs and eat inside,” Jean said, turning right towards the McDonald's.

“Then next time Eren gets to pick,” Marco said, shrugging.

Jean nodded. “Fine.”

Eren grumbled under his breath, but went along with it.

Jean pulled into a parking space in the McDonald's parking lot and the three got out, stretching a bit. The weather had already started getting warmer now that they were further south. Marco pulled out his phone and checked the temperature; sixty-seven degrees. After heading inside and ordering their food, they decided to eat their lunch outside on the patio.

“So, are we taking a new route?” Eren asked, popping a chicken nugget into his mouth.

Jean nodded as he peeled the wrapper off his burger.

“We wanted to take the more scenic route,” Marco explained. “I don't get to travel much and I thought it would be fun. Jean's just humoring me.” He gave Jean a smile. 

Jean flushed slightly and scratched the back of his neck. “I think it's a good idea. We can see stuff you usually don't get to...”

Eren snorted. “Like what? Weird hick tourist traps?”

Marco rolled his eyes. “It's meant to be _fun_. Who cares if it's weird. That's kind of the point.”

“Just you wait. You'll see,” Eren said and munched on a fry.

“You can stay in the car,” Jean commented. “Marco and I will enjoy ourselves.”

Surprisingly enough, the rest of lunch was pleasant with minimal bickering between Jean and Eren. They discussed some of the stops Jean and Marco had already planned and Eren pulled out his phone to look up some of the stops, making comments and suggesting other places they could visit as well. Eren even got Jean to agree to a selfie with him and Marco that he posted to Facebook.

About an hour later, the three headed back out to the car. “Hey, Bodt...catch,” Jean said and tossed his keys to Marco, who reacted quickly and caught them. “Your turn to drive.”

Marco gave a nod and headed for the driver's side. Eren took his seat in the back again, going back to his comic book. Jean pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and checked Facebook.

“Connie wants to know how you ended up going on the trip,” Jean commented to Eren. “Told him you were an annoying fuckface and you conned Marco into letting you come.”

“That's cool,” Eren said, not taking the bait.

“And now you owe me a dollar, Jean,” Marco interjected. 

Jean snorted and continued to look at his Facebook feed until he started feeling a bit queasy. He turned his screen off and stuck his phone back in his pocket. He then reached over and turned the radio up a bit, classic rock filling the car. Eren wrinkled his nose, but continued to hold his tongue.

As Marco drove further on their journey southwest, the green of the scenery started to turn browner and mountains rose up in the distance. The lush grass and leafy trees were replaced with red dirt and prickly cactus. Residential areas started to become scarcer with stops further and further apart.

Marco glanced down at the dash and realized that they would need to stop for gas fairly soon. As they passed a mileage sign on the side of the road, he decided to stop at the next town about 15 miles away. Jean had fallen asleep at some point and Marco smiled softly. Eren had put his headphones on and was listening to his own music, watching the scenery go by. Marco was content, glad Jean had relaxed a bit and accepted that Eren was on the trip. They could still do everything they had planned. And he truly did hope Jean and Eren could mend the rift between them.

Ten minutes later, Marco took the exit off the freeway and pulled into a gas station. Marco cut the engine after pulling up along a pump and gently shook Jean awake. “Jean... We needed to stop for gas,” he said softly as Jean blinked awake. “Sorry to wake you, but were we still putting all the gas on your card?”

Jean sat up and rubbed at his eyes. “Ah, yeah...” He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed a credit card over to Marco.

Marco gave Jean a fond smile and took the card before getting out of the car to fill the tank. Jean yawned and stretched, waking up more fully. In the back seat Eren pulled his headphones off, leaning forward between the two front seats to look at Jean.

“We putting everything on your card and then splitting it at the end of the trip?” he asked.

Jean nodded, looking over at Eren. “Yeah. It's easier and I get the points.”

“I know,” Eren said softly. They had made this trip twice together and it was how they had done things before as well. Eren took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“It's your fault, you know,” Jean mumbled.

Eren frowned and was about to retort but Marco opened the door and stuck his head inside. “I'm going to go use the restroom and grab a fountain drink. You two want anything?” Marco asked.

“Can you grab me a Coke?” Jean asked.

“Mountain Dew for me,” Eren said, grinning. “Thanks, Marco.”

Marco nodded. “No problem. I'll be right back.” He closed the door and headed inside the small gas station.

“I don't see how it's my fault,” Eren said after a minute or two of silence.

Jean turned around in his seat and glared at Eren. “You know damn well it's your fault. You didn't even fucking apologize!”

“I had nothing to apologize for!” Eren countered angrily.

“You're such a selfish bastard,” Jean spat.

“Selfish!?” Eren gaped. “Talk about being a hypocrite. All you thought about was yourself and your fucking image!”

“I wasn't ready to come out!” Jean yelled back, getting in Eren's face.

They glared at each other, a familiar spark crackling between them. Eren suddenly leaned forward, crushing his lips to Jean's. Reaching up and tangling his fingers in Jean's hair, Eren coaxed Jean to deepen the kiss. Jean's eyes slipped shut and he started to kiss Eren back. A second later, Jean's eyes flew open and he jerked back.

“No! Fuck...shit!” Jean spat and opened his car door, quickly getting out.

“Jean!” Eren said, moving quickly to follow after Jean. In his rush, he forgot to open his own door and slammed his head against the window. “Ow...mother...fucker...” he groaned, gripping his head as he opened his door and stepped out.

Jean was pacing beside the car, freaking out. “What the hell was that!?” Jean hissed.

Eren's head was still smarting and he winced, looking over at Jean. “We obviously have some unresolved issues to figure out.”

“There is nothing to figure out,” Jean said and glanced towards the building before turning back to Eren. “I don't even fucking _like_ you.”

Eren snorted and rolled his eyes. “You're such a shitty liar.”

“I'm serious, Eren...” Jean growled and looked back at the building again.

Something clicked and the pieces fell together. “Holy shit...” Eren said in realization. “You fucking like Marc--OW!”

Jean had suddenly moved forward and grabbed Eren by the front of his shirt, slamming him back against the car. “I swear to god, if you say anything to him--”

“Relax, killer,” Eren said, holding his hands up. “Though, I have no idea why you're so worried. You and Marco are practically a married couple as it is.”

Marco came out of the gas station, his hands full with three Big Gulps. He looked over towards the car and spotted Jean and Eren obviously fighting. “What the hell?” He ran over to the car and set the drinks on the hood. “Hey! Can't I leave you two alone for five minutes!?” Marco reached out and grabbed Jean's shoulder, pulling him away from Eren. “What is going on?”

“We had a total misunderstanding,” Eren said with a grin, not looking away from Jean. “Though now it's pretty clear.”

Jean glared back at Eren and clenched his jaw. If Eren said anything to Marco he was leaving Eren on the side of the road. He needed to take things at his own pace.

Marco looked between the two and sighed. “Let’s just get back in the car. I got your drinks.”

“Thanks,” Eren said, smiling and grabbed his Mountain Dew before getting back in the car.

Marco picked up his and Jean's sodas and turned to face Jean. “Should I be worried?” he asked quietly, handing Jean his soda.

Jean took the offered soda and mumbled a thanks. “We'll be fine. We kind of...talked about it.”

Marco gave Jean a nod, but he didn't really believe Jean. That didn’t look much like talking to him. “Just...let’s try to have a good time, okay?” He gave Jean a weak smile.

Jean nodded without meeting Marco’s eyes and moved to get back in the car.

\---------------

“Well... guess I shouldn't have expected much,” Jean said as he opened the motel room door and stepped inside.

Eren whistled. “Classy!”

The old motel room looked like it was straight out of a bad 70's sitcom. Two double beds, with horrid brown and orange comforters, sat against one wall, a small bedside table between them. Across from them on the opposite wall was a long dresser with an ancient television set and cracked mirror. On the far side of the room was a sink and counter area with a large mirror and a bar to hang clothing. A door leading off to the side contained a very yellow bathroom with a shower and toilet.

“For thirty dollars a night, I'm not going to complain,” Marco said and moved past Jean, setting his bag on one of the double beds. “So, I don't mind sharing a bed. You two can fight who gets a bed to themselves.” He regretted the words out of him mouth the moment he said them.

“I call the bed!” Eren said and took a running jump, landing on the second bed. 

“Hey!” Jean started to protest, but stopped when he saw Eren's look. Eren looked from Jean to Marco and back to Jean again, grinning. Jean glanced at Marco and got the hint. He let out a little cough and rubbed at the back of his neck. “Fine. I don't feel like arguing.”

Marco's head shot up and he stared at Jean in surprise. “Wow. So proud of you,” he said, teasing Jean.

“Shut up. Eren's lucky I'm feeling charitable,” Jean said and sat down on the edge of the bed. He scowled at Eren who was giving him a sly grin.

“I'm going to take a shower,” Eren announced and rolled off his bed. He stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Marco moved to sit down next to Jean on the bed. “So, think you'll survive the trip with him along?” he asked, smiling.

Jean rolled his eyes, but smiled back. “Yeah. I'll survive. Unless his stupidity kills me.”

“You know, if you just let go a little bit, I think you'd actually have a good time,” Marco said. “I can tell you two still care about each other.” Jean wrinkled his nose. “I'm being serious!” Marco laughed.

Jean got up and moved over to the battered bedside table, picking up a well-used pamphlet for a local pizza place. “I'm going to order pizza for dinner,” he said, holding the card up for Marco to see and pulled his cell phone out to make the call. 

Marco nodded and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. He was surprised to find the ancient looking television actually had cable. He flicked through the channel lineup twice trying to find anything to watch. He grinned when a commercial break ended and a show he enjoyed started.

“Absolutely not,” Jean said as he ended the call.

“What?” Marco pouted. “It's a good show.”

“The Bachelorette is _not_ a good show,” Jean argued. “I'm not watching that shit.”

“Well, too bad for you, I'm the one with the remote,” Marco said with a smirk. 

Jean scoffed and moved over to the TV set to change the channel manually.

“Ah! No!” Marco cried and jumped up, grabbing at Jean from behind to keep him away from the television set. They ended up stumbling backwards and crashed onto the bed, Jean reaching for the remote. Marco laughed, snatching the remote and rolled, trying to hide it against his chest.

“Give me the remote, Bodt!” Jean said, laughing as well as he wrestled with Marco. He climbed on top of Marco and resorted to tickling.

“No! That's... that's cheating!” Marco gasped between laughs and tried to squirm away from Jean. They both froze when a scream came from the bathroom. “Eren?” Marco called and shoved at Jean to get up and see what was wrong.

Eren flew out of the bathroom with just a small towel around his waist, a look of disgust and horror on his face. “There's a huge fucking spider in there!”

Jean was going to punch a wall. “Are you fucking kidding me? You screamed because of a little spider?”

“It is, by no definition, _little_!” Eren yelled, pointing towards the bathroom.

Jean rolled his eyes and got up to investigate. “Alright, let's see this stupid spider of yours,” he said and stepped into the bathroom. 

Marco headed for the doorway to see for himself, Eren peeking over his shoulder.

“MOTHER FUCK--! It's HUGE!” Jean yelped and flew out of the bathroom, nearly crashing into Marco.

“I told you!” Eren said, glaring at Jean. “You have to kill it.”

“Me? Why can't you!?” Jean argued.

Marco looked around the room for something to use to kill the large spider. There wasn't much, so the phone book on the bedside table would have to do. He cautiously stepped into the bathroom and looked up at the corner of the ceiling where the spider was hiding out.

“God speed,” Eren whispered reverently, watching Marco with wide eyes.

“Dude...be careful,” Jean cautioned, peeking around the bathroom doorway to watch as well.

Marco turned and glared at the two. “You both are no help...” He stood under where the spider was and slowly reached up with the book in his hands. Why couldn't it have been near the toilet or shower where he actually had something to stand on? This was going to be a disaster.

_BAM!_

Marco slammed the book down against the wall, but missed the eight-legged creature by a good two inches. It sprung off the wall and down onto the floor at Marco's feet. Marco let out a very undignified scream and scrambled up onto the toilet. Jean and Eren joined in with the screaming and ran away from the bathroom door as the spider came scurrying towards them. Eren flew up onto his bed and Jean nearly scaled a wall before jumping up onto the counter. The spider crawled out onto the carpet and made its way for the safety under the dresser.

“Get it! Get it!” Eren screeched as he jumped up and down on his bed, pointing.

Jean grabbed a plastic cup off the counter and slammed it down, over the spider. “Aurgh!!!” he cried and flailed about, dancing from one foot to the other. “So fucking disgusting!”

Marco got off the toilet and moved over to the cup, setting the phone book down on top of it. “The maid can deal with that.”

Eren laughed and flopped back on the bed, his adrenaline crashing. 

“Jaeger, get some damn pants on,” Jean grumbled.

\---------------

Jean took his turn in the shower once they had made sure the bathroom was a spider free zone. The pizza arrived and Marco and Eren sat on their beds, stuffing their faces while watching The Bachelorette.

Jean stepped out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair, and rolled his eyes at the two. “Shower's all yours,” he told Marco and moved to snag a piece of pizza before sitting down on the bed by Marco to eat. He frowned, watching the TV. “This is so stu-”

“Shhhhh!” both Marco and Eren scolded.

Twenty minutes later the pizza was gone and Eren, Marco, and Jean were completely immersed in the show.

“I can't believe she didn't give that guy a rose,” Jean argued.

“Nah, he totally needed to go,” Marco said. 

“He was an asshole,” Eren agreed with Marco.

Jean pouted and Marco laughed. “You missed their date at the beginning,” he told Jean like that explained everything.

“Whatever. It's still stupid,” Jean said, continuing to pout.

Marco shook his head with a grin and got up to take his own shower, warily eying the spider still under the cup as he passed.

After Marco closed the door to the bathroom and started the water, Eren looked over at Jean. “So, about earlier today...” he started.

“Can we not talk about it?” Jean asked, getting up from the bed to clean up the pizza boxes.

Eren sighed. “If we don't talk about it, nothing is going to get resolved.”

“Look, you're on the trip. I'm trying to still have fun. Done,” Jean said, shoving the boxes into the waste basket.

Eren grinned, thinking of another tactic to get Jean to talk. “And, what about Marco?”

Jean froze and looked over at Eren, a scowl on his face. 

“Oh, come on. I totally support it,” Eren said. “You two are good together.”

Jean raised an eyebrow. “And what happened between us earlier?”

“What, the kiss?” Eren asked and snorted. “It's always been hot and cold between us. We fight and we fuck. Well, fucked. But obviously you're over me, so why should I waste my time? Honestly, Kirschtein, I'm not some chick.”

Jean actually relaxed a bit and sat back down on the bed, facing Eren. “I'm still mad at you.”

Eren snorted and gave Jean a smirk. “No shit. I would be more surprised if you weren't.”

“Good. Well as long as we have that cleared up,” Jean said running his fingers through his hair. “I’m still going to continue to call you out on all your bullshit, though.”

Eren grinned and moved to crawl under his covers, feeling a little bit better about things. He knew things weren't magically fixed because they had one little talk, but hopefully with time the two of them could gain their old friendship back. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Jean turned on the lamp next to his and Marco's bed and then got up to turn out the larger overhead light. He was getting tired himself and could use the sleep. The three had planned to drive most of the morning and spend the afternoon doing some sightseeing. He pulled down the comforter and sheets and got into bed, settling down.

Marco came out of the bathroom ten minutes later with his pajamas on and moved over to the sink to brush his teeth. He then padded over to his and Jean's bed and sat down. He couldn't help his small laugh as Eren let out a loud snore, completely dead to the world.

“How do you sleep with him every night?” Jean grumbled, rolling over to face Marco.

Marco looked over his shoulder at Jean and shrugged. “You get used to it. Some nights he's not so bad.”

Jean rolled his eyes and shifted a bit to get more comfortable. “If I snore or hog the covers or something, just kick me.”

Marco laid down, pulling the covers over him. “I'm not going to kick you. I'll just let our friend loose on your head.”

Jean gave Marco a weird look and then realization dawned. “Oh, hell no. That spider stays in its prison.”

Marco chuckled and reached over, turning out the light. “Good night, Jean. Sweet dreams,” he teased.

“Night, Marco.”

\---------------

Marco frowned in his sleep, shifting a bit. He felt a weird sensation on his back and blinked awake. “Jean... knock it off,” he mumbled, frown deepening. Shifting to get comfortable, he started to drift off again. Then he felt the tickling sensation on the back of his neck. “Jean, you're not funny,” he said more firmly. When he felt the sensation crawl up into his hair, he reached over and turned on the light. “Knock it off! I know it's you,” Marco growled, frowning as he turned to Jean. 

Jean blinked awake and squinted at the offending light. “Wha-? What are you--” He stopped and stared at Marco, wide-eyed.

Marco froze, his eyes going wide as well. He felt eight little legs crawling over from the back of his head and onto his cheek. He tried to scream, but it caught in his throat as he reached up and swiped violently at the spider on his face. It flew off his cheek, bounced off Jean's chest and landed on the bed between them before scurrying under the covers.

The scream freed itself from Marco's throat and he flew off the bed, tripping, and landed on top of Eren. He then scrambled to put Eren between himself and the bed. Jean shrieked and got tangled in the sheets during his escape, slamming back hard against the wall next to the bed. 

“What the fuck!?” Jean yelled, untangling himself from the sheet finally and fled to the far side of the room. 

“That's what I want to know,” Eren said, still half asleep. “What the hell is going on!?”

“There was a spider on me!” Marco cried, flailing as he remembered the creepy sensation again.

Eren looked over at the cup on the floor. It still had the phone book on top and he could just make out the outline of the spider still inside. “Are you sure?”

“It was on his fucking face!” Jean said and then started laughing hysterically. 

“It's not funny!” Marco yelled. “And it's still in our bed!”

Eren groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked over at Jean and then froze. “Don't...move.”

Marco looked at Eren and then followed his gaze, just above Jean. His eyes went wide.

“No!” Jean quickly ran over to them, launching onto the bed to use the two as a shield. On the wall behind where Jean had stood was another large spider. “It's a fucking infestation!”

“It brought in reinforcements!” Eren cried and pointed accusingly to the spider still under the cup.

There was a loud pounding on the wall from their neighbors and the three screamed as the spider on the wall started crawling. They all scrambled to grab their things and get dressed.

“Evacuate!” Eren cackled as he pulled on a hoodie. 

“I'm glad you think this is funny!” Jean yelled, shaking out his jeans before quickly pulling them on.

Marco didn't care that he was still in his pajama pants and a t-shirt as he grabbed his bag, tugged on his shoes after checking for more of the eight legged intruders, and tore out the door.

Jean and Eren followed shortly after. “You're driving,” Jean said, tossing the keys to Eren. “You got the most sleep. I'm going to get our money back. Meet me at the front desk.” He handed his bag over to Marco to put in the trunk as he stormed off down the parking lot to the front office.

Eren got into the front seat and started the car. Marco slammed the trunk shut once their bags were packed and then crawled into the back seat. “That was so awful!” he whined and flailed around a bit. “I still feel it on me!”

Eren couldn't help it when he burst out laughing. This was going to be one hell of a trip.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad choices happen.   
> Picking up a hitchhiker is a bad choice.  
> Oh Eren, what are we going to do with you?

Levi swore for the hundredth time in the past ten minutes as the engine of his black BMW finally gave up and started to smoke. He supposed this really was the end of the car’s life and pulled over onto the side of the desert road. Levi sat there, staring out at the endless stretch of road ahead of him, illuminated by the bright full moon. 

_Now what?_

This wasn’t exactly the escape he had been craving. He should have known taking his shitty, temperamental old car on a random drive wasn’t going to pan out well. He gave the underside of the dash a hard kick and leaned over, pressing the button to pop the hood. Heaving a sigh, Levi opened the car door and got out. He moved over to the front of the car and slipped his fingers under the hood, searching for the safety latch. It clicked when he found it and smoke billowed out as he opened the hood fully. Coughing, Levi waved away the smoke and scowled down at the engine. He had no clue what to even look for. 

Levi dug into his pocket and pulled his cell phone out to call his “keeper”. He wasn’t too far out of the city so reception wouldn’t be a problem. After hitting ‘send’, Levi leaned against the car as he waited for Erwin to pick up. 

_On second thought, fuck this._

Levi hit the ‘end’ button on his cell and pocketed it again. He pushed off the car and opened the back door, pulling a large messenger bag out and slinging it over his shoulder. He took out his pack of cigarettes, lit one, and then started walking. 

He ignored his phone as Erwin’s ringtone sounded from his pocket.

\---------------

As he drove, Eren munched on the fries he had gotten earlier from a 24-hour McDonald’s. Jean and Marco had passed out about an hour after they had fled the motel. Eren was glad Jean had pitched a fit and they wouldn’t be charged for that hell hole of a room. He laughed, remembering the whole scene. _Shit, that had been crazy._

Yawning, Eren stuffed more fries into his mouth and then sipped on his Coke in an attempt to keep awake. The clock on the radio showed it was almost 4:30am. He’d been driving close to five hours. Even though he had gotten more hours of sleep than Jean and Marco, he was still tired. He figured he’d drive until around six and wake the two losers with him up so they could take turns driving while he slept. And maybe stop for some breakfast too. 

Eren glanced over at Jean sleeping in the seat next to him. He had a lot of emotions when it came to Jean. As much as he wanted to believe he was over whatever it was that he and Jean had, he wasn’t. He knew he had fucked things up last winter and he was too damn afraid to confront Jean and actually apologize. His pride had gotten the better of him, as well. Perhaps, somehow on this trip, he could make it up to Jean. 

He glanced in the back seat at Marco. Even though it stung in some ways, maybe he could play matchmaker. Jean obviously had a thing for Marco; he just needed to figure out if Marco felt the same way. It wasn’t a secret how much Marco cared about Jean, but was it just friendship or something more? Eren always teased Marco about him and Jean being an item, but Marco had never actually admitted to anything. 

Yeah. He could do this. Even though being a third wheel sucked, he’d help Jean and Marco realize their love for each other. Eren snickered to himself and shoved more fries into his mouth. 

About half an hour later, dawn was upon them. The darkness of night was being traded by the light of day. Eren enjoyed how it was still dark out, yet the first rays of the sun lit up just enough to illuminate the scenery around them. He liked being able to see the mountains in the distance and the cacti surrounding them as he drove. It gave him something to look at other than the beams of his headlights through the dark.

Eren frowned and squinted a bit when he saw a figure up ahead on the side of the road. _Is that an animal? What person would be walking out in the middle of nowhere at this time of day?_ Eren tried to think if he had passed a car on the side of the road recently. He slowed the car down as he neared the figure. Sure enough, it was a person. 

 

Levi heard the car approaching from a bit of a distance. He had been walking for almost two hours and the sign he had passed earlier said the next town was still 10 miles ahead. _There was no fucking way._

Whatever possessed Levi to stick his thumb out as the car passed was beyond him. _Hitchhiking, really?_ He had finally, completely lost it. Hopefully the car would just keep going. _What moron picked up some random stranger from the side of the road?_ The car slowed even more and pulled over about 50 feet ahead of Levi. 

_Apparently this moron._

 

As Eren had passed the guy on the side of the road he had gotten a quick glance. The guy had looked young, dressed in all black with a punk undercut hairstyle. He’d looked _hot_. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but Eren was intrigued. He rolled down the passenger side window as the guy approached. 

Levi was glad to see the car looked new and well taken care of. At least from the outside. He spotted a younger looking guy staring at him out the back window. Huh. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as he thought. Levi was a bit nervous he had flagged down some old pervert. He stepped up to the front passenger side door and looked into the car. The first thing he noticed was the two other sleeping occupants of the car. The second thing he noticed was the utter mess of the inside of the car; fast food containers and soda bottles littered the floors. The third thing he noticed was the driver’s brilliant blue-green eyes. Even in the pre-dawn light they shone bright. He felt his breath hitch.

Eren grinned. _Damn, this guy_ was _hot._ “Hey, need a ride?” he asked smoothly. He looked back when he saw Marco sit up quickly from his sleeping position in the back seat. The constipated look Marco gave him made him let out a laugh as he looked back at the hitchhiker. 

“Where you heading?” short, dark, and handsome asked. 

“Trost,” Eren replied. “Wanna come?”

“Eren!” Marco cried angrily from the back seat. 

Levi raised a thin eyebrow. Trost was all the way across the country. Did he want to go that far? And did he want to go with some college kids? He thought about it a moment and then gave a shrug. “Yeah, sure.”

“Cool,” Eren replied lamely. “Get in.” 

Levi leaned back from the front window and circled the back of the car to get in the back seat behind Eren. 

“Are you fucking insane!?” Marco spat from the back seat as Levi was rounding the car. “There is no way we’re picking up a hitchhiker!”

Eren sighed as he hit the button to roll the passenger side window back up. “Would you relax? It’s fine. And did you see how good looking he is? That neck tattoo is sexy as hell.”

Marco’s jaw literally dropped. His head whipped to the side as the back door opened and the stranger got into the car. 

“This car is fucking filthy,” Levi said with a frown, kicking garbage out of the way so he could get his feet in the car. He pushed the box of snacks to the middle seat as he sat down. 

“Don’t like it, then get out,” Marco told him. 

Levi leveled a gaze at Freckles and then looked forward at Bright Eyes who turned around to look back at him. “You’re not going to kill us, right?”

A small laugh actually bubbled out of Levi’s throat. “You decide to ask me that now, after I’m already in the car?”

Marco groaned. “Really, Eren? This is absolutely ridiculous. If Jean knew that you stopped for a hitchhiker-“

“Well, lucky for…“

“Levi.”

“Lucky for Levi, Jean’s dead to the world. So, let’s get going.” Eren turned around and put the car into drive, pulling back onto the road. Only when the car started moving again did Jean stir slightly and shifted in his sleep. Marco scowled and kicked the back of Jean’s seat. Hard. 

“Wha- What the hell!?” Jean yelped half asleep and sat up, looking into the back seat. He spotted Levi and blinked wide-eyed. “Who the fuck are you?” 

“Levi.”

Jean squinted and shook his head slowly, trying to comprehend through his sleep fogged brain if he was supposed to know this Levi guy.

Marco sighed and gave Jean an unamused look. “You slept through Eren pulling over to pick up a hitchhiker.”

Jean’s eyes widened again and he turned his head to give Eren an incredulous look. “You picked up a hitchhiker!?”

“He looked like he could use a ride.” Eren shrugged and glanced over at Jean. 

Jean’s mouth opened and closed, his brain trying to form words. After a moment or two of Jean doing a good impersonation of a fish he reached over and grabbed the front of Eren’s shirt, yanking hard. “Pull the fuck over, right now!”

“Hey! I’m driving!” Eren yelled back, doing his best to get Jean off him and keep the car on the road. 

“You picked up a fucking stranger! In my car! Are you fucking batshit insane!?” Jean continued to scream into Eren’s ear. 

Marco leaned forward, putting his hand on Jean’s arm. “Jean, let him go!”

“Pull the goddamn car over!” Jean yelled at Eren again before turning his rage onto Marco. “And you just let him pick this guy up!?”

Marco frowned angrily. “I didn’t _let_ him do anything! This isn’t my fault.”

“You could have tried to stop him or something!” Jean protested. 

The three continued to argue and yell at each other and Levi closed his eyes, rubbing his temple. He had made a horrible mistake. He opened his eyes to see another road sign coming up. The next town was now only three miles away. Looked like that was his stop. “Could you three brats shut up for a fucking minute?” The car went silent and three sets of eyes looked at him, one pair from the rear view mirror. “Good. I’m not looking to steal your shit or murder you. Don’t get your panties in a twist, I’ll part ways soon enough. The next town is coming up shortly. You can drop me off there.”

\---------------

The three miles to get into town was driven in silence. After Levi had spoken up, Eren and Jean just glared at each other periodically while Marco stared out the window, glancing a few times in Levi’s direction. Eren pulled the car up along the curb outside a small old fashion looking diner and turned to face Jean and Marco. “I’m getting breakfast. You guys can come too or sit here and continue to argue.” He then looked at Levi. “Want to join me?”

Levi thought a moment and decided that he could put up with them for another half or so if it meant getting some much needed caffeine into his system. “Sure.” He grabbed his bag and got out of the car, Eren following suit. 

Marco just sat in his seat, watching Eren and Levi disappear into the diner. He was really starting to regret letting Eren come along on the trip. 

“So I could, uh, use some coffee,” Jean said, staring out the windshield, watching the sun rise up in the distance. 

Marco nodded. “Yeah. I’m hungry, too.” He opened his door and got out of the car, stretching a bit. 

Jean slid out of the front seat and took Marco’s pillow that he’d been using and tossed it into the back seat. “We should just leave Eren’s sorry ass here.” 

“He still has the keys,” Marco informed him, leaning against the car. 

“Damn it.”

Marco sighed softly, looking up at the cloudless morning sky. “Sorry this trip isn’t turning out how we planned.”

Jean frowned and moved to stand in front of Marco. “Why the hell are you apologizing?”

Marco lowered his head to look Jean in the eyes. “I let Eren come. It’s kind of my fault.”

“Stop. I don’t blame you. And I’m sorry I yelled at you in the car,” Jean said and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I forgive you,” Marco told Jean, smiling softly. 

Jean nodded and smiled back. After an awkward silence descended upon them, Jean stepped back and stretching his arms above his head; his shirt coming up a bit to reveal a small peek of his stomach. “Well, let’s go get breakfast. Hopefully the creeper will decide he doesn’t want to come with us anymore.”

Marco nodded and looked back up to Jean’s face quickly after he found himself staring at Jean’s exposed stomach. “Hopefully.” He then headed into the diner with Jean to join Eren and Levi. 

\---------------

The inside of the diner gave country kitsch a whole new meaning. Every available surface was littered with old antiques and knick-knacks and the walls were adorned with pictures and other hang-able items. A counter ran the length of the diner while booths lined the perimeter along the windows. There were only three other patrons in the place besides Eren and Levi. Most likely locals because they turned to stare at Jean and Marco as the two stepped into the diner, giving them a look that was the equivalent of saying, _‘y’all ain’t from around here, are ya?’_

Jean and Marco made their way over to the booth Eren and Levi were occupying. Jean frowned, not wanting to sit next to Eren or Levi, but chose to sit beside Eren. Marco sat down next to Levi and picked up a menu. A tired looking waitress came over to take their drink order. 

Marco looked up at her and smiled. “I’ll have a caramel mocha, please.”

“We don’t got none of those fancy coffee drinks,” she informed him. 

“Oh, um, then just a regular coffee then,” Marco said, glancing at the sugar packets on the table. 

“Same,” Jean ordered. 

The waitress turned and headed back around the counter. 

Marco turned a bit to look at Levi. “So… how’d you end up hitchhiking out here?”

Levi took a sip of his coffee and Marco wondered why he held his mug around the rim and not with the handle. “My car broke down and on a whim decided to give it a try,” he answered with a shrug. 

“So you just needed to get to a town to call for help?” Marco asked. 

Levi gave a slight shake of his head. “I have my cell. Just didn’t feel like going back home.”

The waitress returned with Jean and Marco’s coffee and then took their breakfast orders. Once she left again Jean spoke up. “So where are you headed?”

“Not sure,” Levi answered. “Was just driving. Guess I’m going to see how far I can go.”

Jean gave Levi a weird look. “So you have no plan? No destination in mind?” 

“Correct.” Levi glanced over at Marco who had been doctoring his coffee with about 8 packets of sugar and a bunch of creamer. “Would you like some coffee with your sugar?”

Marco laughed. “I’m improvising.” 

“I see. And I thought he was bad,” Levi said, nodding to Eren. 

Eren blinked. “What did I do? I don’t even have coffee.”

“Exactly.” Levi smirked. “That soda is going to rot your teeth.”

“And coffee is going to stain yours,” Eren countered, taking a long sip of said soda. The death look he received from Levi in return was a bit unnerving. Levi’s focus changed to his cell phone when it started to ring. He immediately silenced it and went back to his coffee. 

Jean narrowed his eyes a bit. “Who are you trying to avoid?”

Levi leveled Jean with a look of his own. “No one.”

“Bullshit. Why didn’t you answer your phone then?” Jean asked. “You’re obviously avoiding someone. That why you’re trying to run away?”

Levi scoffed. “Running away? I’m not some twelve year old twerp. I felt like getting away for a while, so I don’t want to be bothered. And I’m not telling my sob story to a group of teenagers.”

“We’re not teenagers. And you’re the one who hopped into a car with us,” Jean said, frowning. “It’s only natural for us to wonder who the fuck you are.” 

“Why? I’m assuming we’re parting ways after this.” Levi took another drink of his coffee.

Eren studied Levi. “So what are you going to do if we leave you here?” He had to figure out how to get Jean to agree to let Levi continue on with them.

Levi gave a shrug of his slender shoulders. “Not sure. Maybe I can catch a bus. Buy another car.” 

Marco spoke up then, finally waking up a bit more. “So you’re seriously just going to continue on with no plan in mind?” 

“You mentioned Trost,” Levi said. “I have an acquaintance there I haven’t seen in a few years. Maybe I’ll head there.”

“This is stupid. Just come with us then,” Eren told Levi. He yelped when Jean kicked him under the table. “What?” he growled at Jean. “He’s harmless.” 

“You don’t even know him,” Jean argued, doing his best to keep his voice down. 

Eren frowned. “Why do you always assume the worst of people?” 

Jean was about to retort but the waitress returned with their breakfast. It smelled heavenly. “Can I get you boys anything else?” she asked after she had passed out their plates. 

“I think we’re good,” Marco told her. The waitress gave a nod and moved over to another table. 

Eren started to pour a flood of syrup onto his pancakes and Marco bit into a piece of bacon. Jean started in on his own breakfast, eggs benedict, when he looked over at Levi’s plate. Levi had the same order. The two made eye contact and Levi smirked. “Nice choice.”

Jean snorted. “My mother used to make this for me for breakfast.” 

Levi gave a nod. “Mine too,” he said softly under his breath. 

Eren and Marco looked between the two. “Can we keep him?” Eren asked Jean. 

Jean groaned. “I’m going to regret this for the rest of my life.” 

Marco grinned softly. He actually found he didn’t mind Levi so much. He seemed like a decent enough guy. Levi was clean and Marco noticed the more expensive items he wore. Levi definitely had a story to tell, but it wasn’t Marco’s place to ask. 

Eren turned back to Levi. “So! You going to stick with us?” he asked around a mouthful of pancakes. 

Levi’s nose wrinkled. “Not if you continue to act like a heathen.” 

Eren rolled his eyes but grinned. That was definitely Levi’s equivalent of a ‘yes’. Eren now felt like he wouldn’t be such a third wheel anymore. 

The boys finished their breakfast about fifteen minutes later and when the check came Levi grabbed for it. Without looking at the total, he pulled his wallet out and handed a credit card over to the waitress. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” Marco said. “We can pay our share.” 

“Just wanted to show that I’m not trying to mooch off you kids,” Levi explained. 

“We’re not kids,” Jean argued through clenched teeth. 

It was Eren’s turn to kick Jean. “Just say thank you, you moron.” 

“Ouch! That fucking hurt,” Jean spat back at Eren. 

Levi looked over at Marco, raising an eyebrow. “What was he saying about not being a kid?”

Marco laughed a little, rubbing his finger under his nose. “Uh…”

“I’m not sure how you manage to travel with these two. I’m not even sure why I’m agreeing to.” Levi sighed. He took his card back from the waitress and signed the receipt slip before nodding for Marco to get out of the booth. “I’m going to take a piss before we head off,” he told them as he threw down ten dollars for a tip and then headed for the bathroom. 

“Oh yeah. He’s going to be a _joy_ to travel with,” Jean grumbled. 

Marco chuckled. “I dunno, I kind of like him.” 

“I saw him first!” Eren cut in, draping his arm over Jean’s shoulders. “He’s hot.”

“Aaaand I’m done,” Jean said, shrugging Eren off him and headed for the door. 

Marco watched Jean leave the diner before turning back to Eren. “You better be on your best behavior after this.” 

“Yes, mother,” Eren replied sweetly.

Marco just shook his head and headed for the door as well. 

“I’m going to wait for Levi,” Eren called after him and sat back down in the booth. 

A minute later Levi stepped up to him, hands shoved in his pockets. “Ready to go?”

Grinning largely, Eren got up from the booth and nodded. “Ready!”

Levi gave Eren a contemplative look. “I feel like I shouldn’t have let you have caffeine…”

“Little sleep and caffeine make me a teeny bit hyper,” Eren confirmed. “But don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll pass out in the car.”

Levi nodded and headed for the exit with Eren. Maybe he could catch some sleep as well. 

Jean was back in the driver’s seat, Marco in the front passenger seat beside him. Levi got back into his seat behind Jean and Eren behind Marco. 

“So, we’ve got about a two to three hour drive until we get to our stop,” Marco informed them, looking at the GPS map on his cell phone.

“What’s our stop?” Levi asked, a little confused. 

Eren grinned over at him. “So how do you feel about aliens?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The four main players are finally all together! (/^▽^)/*･゜ﾟ･*☆
> 
> If anyone is wondering, I plan to update this fic every 2 to 3 weeks. That's if all things go according to plan and life doesn't get in the way. 
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated! Any feedback makes me soooo happy and also helps motivate me. Let's me know people are actually reading this thing. 
> 
> As always, a huge thank you to my beta readers: [zombiezebradonkey](http://zombiezebradonkey.tumblr.com/), [nalony](http://nalony.tumblr.com/), [cocktailpolitics](http://cocktailpolitics.tumblr.com/), and [somnolentcypress](http://somnolentcypress.tumblr.com/) You guys are amazing~! <3
> 
> My tumblr: [shukiai](http://shukiai.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
